46 USC § 10317 - Loss of lien and right to wages

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s10317"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 10317 - Loss of lien and right to wages"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "10317"
section_name: "Loss of lien and right to wages"
chapter_number: 103
chapter_name: "FOREIGN AND INTERCOASTAL VOYAGES"
part_number: "G"
part_name: "Merchant Seamen Protection and Relief"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 568.)"
---


# § 10317. Loss of lien and right to wages

A master or seaman by any agreement other than one provided for in this chapter may not forfeit the master’s or seaman’s lien on the vessel or be deprived of a remedy to which the master or seaman otherwise would be entitled for the recovery of wages. A stipulation in an agreement inconsistent with this chapter, or a stipulation by which a seaman consents to abandon a right to wages if the vessel is lost, or to abandon a right the seaman may have or obtain in the nature of salvage, is void.

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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 568.)

| Revised section | Source section (U.S. Code) |
| --- | --- |
| 10317 | 46:600 |

Section 10317 prohibits a master or seaman from entering into an agreement which forfeits his or her lien on the vessel or other remedy for recovery of wages, and renders such agreements void.